Mass Effect: Origins
by AgentDC
Summary: Prequel before Mass Effect: New Hero. As a new person enters the Mass Effect universe, he alone changes the outcome for future events. But, how does it all begin? Where does this new hero start his journey? Rated T for violence and language.
1. Part 1: Freaky Storm

It was near midnight on a stormy Monday in the middle of Iowa. The halls of the house were quiet, save for the torrent of rain smashing against the windows of the home. Down in the basement, a young 15-year-old Alex was creeping out of his room. Alex was a tall, lanky kid with a bush of dirty blonde hair and blue/green eyes. He wore Xbox pants and a white t-shirt and carried a green game case in his hands.

Alex heard about the game from all of his friends, how it was awesome and how every choice you made had an effect on the future of the game. He had heard the lore, how there were sentient robots who wanted to preserve life by killing it and that the player was the best the galaxy had to combat against the threat. It sounded like just the game Alex wanted to try. So, he had asked a friend to borrow the game so he could give it a whirl.

Slowly pushing away the curtain that was his door, Alex poked his head out and held his breath, listening if his dad had decided to get a midnight snack. Even through the rain, Alex could hear his dad snoring two floors above him. Alex smirked at that, his father was a _very_ sound sleeper. Tip toeing out of his room, Alex rounded the corner and saw the 42" flat screen TV resting on the cabinet. Grinning to himself in excitement, Alex went to his black Xbox and pushed the eject button. The black Xbox pinged at the pressing and Alex's heart jumped. He had forgotten about the new model's… unwanted additions.

Hearing that it was still safe to play, Alex loaded up the game and turned the volume on the TV. As he watched the loading screens, Alex couldn't help but feel his excitement rising. This game had received a lot of praise and a strong, healthy fan base. He was willing to join alongside these fans, anything for a good game.

However… Alex had a sense of foreboding in the back of his mind. It may have been the storm and his initial fear of tornadoes picking up his house and sending them to Oz, but Alex felt like something was about to happen. Something big.

The title screen appeared, a planet on the lower half on the screen with the words "Mass Effect" in the center of the screen. The flashing "Press Start" prompt beckoned for Alex to begin on his journey. Without hesitation, Alex pressed Start and selected Start New Career.

It was indeed interesting, making the whole creation process seemingly a recreation of an old profile. This already made Alex feel like he had a whole lot of power. First things first, male or female? Of course, Alex wanted to chose male. As he held up his controller, he tried to select the "Custom Male" option. However, his joystick started to act weird, and when he pushed up, it went down and selected "Custom Female".

"Shit," Alex whispered under his breath. He tried to select "Back", but it gave him an error message. Alex sighed, _Might as well move on, I can learn more about the creation process._

The name was next, all too important for creating your own saga. Alex thought for a second, this was a fluke character. Maybe he should just give it a random name instead. Alex shrugged to himself and typed in "Jane". Simple enough. Pre-Service History. Alex cocked his head in interest; he got to choose his background? _Awesome_, Alex grinned and looked at his three options with interest.

Spacer was first. Alex read carefully, "Both of your parents were in the Alliance military. Your childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting, never staying in one location for more than a few years. Following in your parent's footsteps, you enlisted at the age of eighteen." Alex thought for a moment, it was the simple background. Not too much of a "wow" factor too it. A safe start, Alex guessed.

Next, Alex scrolled down to the Earthborn background. Squinting at the screen, Alex read the print, "You were an orphan raised on the streets of the great megatropolises covering Earth. You escaped the life of petty crime and underworld gangs by enlisting with the Alliance military when you turned eighteen." Alex grinned a little to that background. It was a lot cooler than the Spacer background, but it sounded a little too rough for Alex's tastes. Good for a "bad ass" but Alex was far from it.

Finally, Alex looked at his last option, Colonist, "You were born and raised on Mindoir, a small border colony in the Attican Traverse. When you were sixteen, slavers raided Mindoir, slaughtering your family and friends. You were saved by a passing Alliance patrol, and you enlisted with the military a few years later." Alex stared at the screen for a moment, that past sounded… horrible. Losing everything, Alex wasn't even sixteen yet! But, this was a point from which a true hero could rise up and be extremely powerful. Alex clicked, "Select".

A new screen came up and Alex looked at the title, "Psychological Profile". _Psych tests too? Man, Bioware went ALL out_, Alex thought. He looked at the three new options.

First was Sole Survivor, "During your service, a mission you were on went horribly wrong. Trapped in an extreme survival situation, you had to overcome physical torments and psychological stresses that would have broken most people. You survived while all those around you fell, and now you alone are left to tell the tale. The Sole Survivor's unit was slaughtered in a thresher maw attack on Akuze." Alex thought about this with disgust, Jane had already went through a tough time losing her parents on Mindoir. Why make her a Sole Survivor? Alex scrolled down.

The next option Alex looked at was Ruthless, "Throughout your military career, you have held fast to one basic rule: get the job done. You've been called cold, calculating, and brutal. Your reputation for ruthless efficiency makes your fellow soldiers wary of you. But when failure is not an option, the military always goes to you first. The Ruthless character sent 3/4ths of her unit to its death and murdered surrendering batarians on Torfan." Alex shook his head. No way would Jane do that, it would be a stupid thing to do. Throwing away life like that? No, Jane would never do that. Again, Alex scrolled to his third option.

Its title was "War Hero" and Alex was already liking the sound of it, "Early in your military career you found yourself facing an overwhelming enemy force. You risked your own life to save your fellow soldiers and defeat the enemy despite the impossible odds. Your bravery and heroism have earned you medals and recognition from the Alliance fleet. The War Hero almost single-handedly repelled an attack by batarian slavers on Elysium." _Yes!_ Alex thought to himself with a smile. This was the Jane he wanted. A hero willing to sacrifice her life to save others. It's what Alex would do. He pressed, "Select" and waited for the next screen to load.

Classes were next, combat powers listed beside the six classes. Alex didn't want to do anything flashy for Jane, she was already starting to sound like a heroic bad ass as is. He quickly clicked "Soldier".

The thunder outside shook the house profusely as Alex jumped in surprise. Setting down his controller, Alex stood up to examine the world outside. In the sky, it was pitch black, with blue lightning streaking across the sky. Rain came down in blankets, flooding the ground with the quarter size droplets. Alex felt a chill run down his spine. He pushed the image out of his mind as he went back to creating Jane.

Facial creation was cool. Alex had a wide variety of choices for his character. He decided to give her narrower, softer features. With longer velvet red hair and slightly blushed cheeks. Her big emerald green eyes and freckles also made her seem more adorable… and a little sexy. Alex shook his head at the thought and clicked "Confirm".

Just then, the whole house lit up in bright white light, causing Alex to cry out and shield his eyes. He heard electricity buzzing its way through the entire house. He could feel the static around him thicken, taunting him with the extreme charge ready to burst. And as soon as it happened, it went away.

Slowly, Alex opened up his eyes and looked around. Nothing had been harmed, and Alex wasn't dead. The TV was still on, and playing Mass Effect. Carefully picking up his controller, Alex intended to quickly start the game and save so he could go to bed. Didn't want to risk it anymore. When Alex looked up at the screen, he looked at it confused.

There was a new message on the screen, a small window with the background grayed out. It read, "HOW ABOUT YOU JOIN THE GAME?"

_Anything to get to bed sooner,_ Alex thought as he selected yes.

Immediately, the screen flashed white and a swirling hole appeared on the screen. Alex scoffed at it, was Bioware trying to hypnotize Alex? Alex started to push buttons, anything to skip past it. The screen didn't change. Alex sighed, it froze. Standing up, Alex started to walk over to the Xbox.

That's when all hell broke loose.

The TV started to act like a vacuum cleaner, sucking in air as if it were breathing. Alex jumped back, was he high? The pull of the TV got stronger, almost like it were a black hole. Alex could feel himself being pulled across the carpeted floor. Alex groaned, trying to pull away. But it was useless, Alex felt himself being pulled into the TV.

Alex found himself hurtling in a tunnel of white and blue energy, it reminded him of what it looked like in Hyperspace in Star Wars. Alex felt himself flipping in the energy tube. He heard the electrical charges, feeling them strike out into Alex's body making him cry out in pain. Alex looked forward, trying to see the end. All he could see was the tube, and Alex just closed his eyes and waited for the end…

The grassy plains of the McArus farm were quiet that morning. Mr. McArus sat on the porch of his house, rocking on his chair while staring into the crystal blue sky. With his daughter at school and his wife in town, McArus could finally relax for a few minutes and enjoy the day.

Suddenly, he saw a ping of light in the sky. McArus dismissed it, probably a space probe or a ship passing by the planet. Who would want to visit-

The ping of light was getting bigger, and getting closer as McArus saw the ping become a ball of light flying down to the surface. Getting out of his chair, McArus ran inside and got under the kitchen table, waiting for the impact of the meteor.

The ground shook as the ball came crashing down, shockwaves rattling the house and McArus. When the shaking stopped, McArus slowly got up from underneath the table and looked through a window. A plume of dirt and dust forming several feet away from the porch. Grabbing a pistol, McArus went outside. Slowly approaching the smoldering pile, McArus pointed his gun at it. Then he looked down into the depression.

In the crater was a human boy. He wore odd clothing, with pants that said, "Xbox 360" on them and a white shirt. He was cut up, bleeding and his body was smoking from energy. McArus ran back inside to get the skycar's keys, leaving the boy to his deep dreams of home…

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Part 2: Not in Iowa Anymore

Black. That's all Alex could see. Just the endless void, was he dead? He couldn't move… but he could feel himself breathing. He relaxed, funny he didn't remember being tense, and tired to move again. His body felt like it was weighed down by several tons of weight. All he could hear was the deafening sound of silence.

Then, it broke. Alex could hear muffled talking, incoherent words forming in Alex's ears. Alex struggled to make out the words. The first thing he heard was a softer, feminine voice. Even though it sounded lovely, there was an edge to the voice, "-don't need them coming in to-"

"Relax," an older voice, this one more masculine, quickly interrupted, "they won't come in for quite sometime. Not until he regains consciousness. Then, we can-"

Alex tried to move again, this time, he felt it easier to lift his left arm. As he slowly began to stretch to his arm, Alex could hear the feminine voice gasp, "Doctor! I think he's waking up."

Hearing a rush of footsteps, Alex heard the masculine voice say, "Easy, son. You've had a rough ride."

Slowly opening his eyes, Alex groaned loudly as the bright light slammed into his eyes. He lifted his left arm to block the light as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He was in a small room, natural light filtering in through the large window to his right. He was laying in a white bed, with the covers over top of him. The cloth felt cool against Alex's bare chest, and he saw that his right arm was inside a sleek machine that was quietly humming.

On his left side, Alex saw the two people he had heard moments before. There was a man, somewhere in his forties. He had short black hair with tints of gray in it, as well as a trimmed beard. He was taller and more fit than most his age. He wore a white lab coat and carried a rectangular pad in his right hand. This was obviously the Doctor.

Then there was the girl. She had long, velvet red hair that fell past her shoulders. She was paler, with freckles on her cheekbones and deep green eyes. She looked about Alex's age, maybe a year older. He blushed a little at the sight of her. The Doctor looked at Alex, "Hey, how you feeling?"

Suddenly, Alex felt a wave of pain and soreness spread out through his entire body, making him groan and hiss through his teeth. He looked at the Doctor and said through gritted teeth, "Like I fell out of the sky. Where am I?"

The Doctor smiled reassuringly, "You're in a safe place. You took a few hits and you're here to be healed."

"How bad was I hurt?" Alex asked.

"Nothing too serious, surprisingly," the Doctor said, "A couple burns, some bruising around the ribs and your right arm has been broken. We've healed most of your surface blemishes, but you will still feel the pain. Now, where are you from?"

Alex laid his head back, "Iowa."

The girl cocked her head to the side, "Io-wha?"

Alex sighed, he had heard that many times before. It was like the entire United States had no idea where Iowa was. Sitting up slightly, Alex was about to explain when the Doctor cut in, "Iowa is a state in America, back on Earth."

"Exactly, a state-" Alex paused for a moment, "Wait, what do you mean 'back on Earth'?"

The Doctor looked at Alex, "You're about 10,000 light years away from Earth, son."

"T- Ten thousand?!" Alex exclaimed as he sat upright in shock. Immediately he regretted it as the pain exploded through out his body and he cried out as he laid back down. The girl rushed to his side, "Hey, take it easy, you took a pretty nasty fall… from the sky…"

"Wha-" Alex was completely baffled.

"Son," the Doctor sat beside the bed, "what exactly do you remember?"

Alex searched his mind, trying to recount the events, "I-I was at home. Playing a game, when this, this bolt of lighting struck and I was being sucked into this wormhole thing. Then, I blacked out."

"Where were you playing your game?" the Doctor said, his voice laced with concern.

"I-in my home, back on Earth," Alex said, his voice shaking.

"Odd," the Doctor said as he stood up, "and it seems you've lost your omni-tool."

"My omni-what?" Alex asked, his head drowning in the overload of information.

The girl looked shocked, "You don't know what an omni-tool is?"

Alex shook his head, "Um, no… in fact, I don't know much."

The Doctor looked at the girl, and she back at him. Alex sat in silence for a long moment. He hung his head, feeling himself well up in tears of frustration. He felt like an idiot, fumbling around in the dark. Finally, the Doctor spoke to the girl, "Go get one of the advance models downstairs, I'll talk to our friend here."

The girl nodded, "Okay."

She left the room quickly, leaving the Doctor and Alex alone. Alex looked at the Doctor, "I'm sorry, I just… I'm really confused."

The Doctor smiled kindly at him, "It's ok, things happen. You probably hit your head a little too hard and lost a little memory. Let me bring you up to speed."

Sitting down beside Alex, the Doctor smiled and said, "The year is 2170. We've met several alien races. We've made several advances in technology, including the omni-tool."

Alex was flabbergasted. 2170? He jumped forward over 100 years into the future? Met alien races? Omni-tools? What was next, giant insects? Or maybe flying unicorns that shoot rainbows from their horns. Alex hid the shock well and the Doctor continued, "Now, the omni-tool is an everyday device we use here on Mindoir-"

"Mindoir?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Oh?" the Doctor said in response, "You've heard of us?"

Alex was stating to piece together the story. The game, Alex was in the game. Mindoir was part of the background story. The story for his character! Alex started to try and recall all of what he had read. Unfortunately, the Doctor was right. He had lost a little memory. He couldn't remember a lot of what had happened.

"Y-you could say that," Alex muttered.

The Doctor smiled, "Well, its good that news of our little colony is making its way all the way back to Earth. Now, the omni-tool has many functions, and it is commonly worn as a little bracelet, charm. Or it is implanted."

"Implanted?" Alex asked.

"Only the really high-end models are implanted," the Doctor shrugged, "Now, watch."

Raising up his right arm, the Doctor revealed a tiny, silver bracelet around his wrist. Suddenly, his arm was engulfed in orange light. Alex gasped as he saw the light take for into a gauntlet, with gears and cogs pinning around above and below his hand.

"That's cool!" Alex exclaimed.

The Doctor nodded, "Now, most standard omni-tool have scanners, photo-taking capabilities, communicators and other little gadgets. The one I'm giving you ahs something… more."

As if on cue, the girl walked back in with a tiny bracelet much like the Doctors. She walked over and gave it to the Doctor, "Here, and the family is still trying to get in."

The Doctor sighed, "We'll let them in a few minutes. Now- Son, what's your name?"

"Alex."

"Alex, my name is Don," Don said with a smile, "No, can you hold up your left arm?"

Nodding, Alex held out his arm as Don put on the bracelet. Alex yelped when he felt tiny needles poke into his skin. Don chuckled, "Sensors attaching to your nervous system. Your thoughts control the omni-tool. Now, try and activate it. Think 'on'."

Looking at his arm, Alex tried to imagine the orange gauntlet sparking to life on his arm. _On_, he thought verbally. And, just in the next instant, the omni-tool started up. Alex grinned like a little child, it was so cool to have a holographic gauntlet on his arm. He looked up to see Don and the girl grinning. Don spoke, "Now, most things on the omni-tool just require thought to use. You have to focus, it'll get easier as time goes."

"Try taking a photo," the girl suggested.

Don nodded, "Good idea, Alex, the lens in the gear looking shape in the palm of your hand. Point it at me and my intern here. Then think, 'photo'."

Lifting up his hand, Alex tried his best to point his hand at the two. Then, when he felt like he got his aim right, he though, _Photo_

And then, Alex saw a flash and on the top of the gauntlet Alex saw the photo of the girl and the Doctor, "Pretty cool."

Don walked forward, "Now, this model has a built in… safety device. The Alliance came through the other day and gave us a new program for the omni-tool for this defensive measure. Think 'blade'."

Doing as instructed, Alex witnessed the omni-tool transform before his eyes. It blinked out for a second, then returned as a darker orange/red and was shaped differently. A single, sloped blade extended out, humming with energy. Alex quickly deactivated it, "Definitely will come in handy. Thanks."

Suddenly, a beep was heard and Don looked down at his omni-tool. He swore softly, "Sorry, I have to tend to another patient. Do you mind watching him?"

The girl nodded, "Sure thing, Doctor."

Don nodded back and grinned at Alex, "I'll be back soon."

As Don left the room, silence fell between Alex and the girl. He sat in the bed, avoiding her gaze and trying to act cool. Stuck in a room with a pretty girl, who wouldn't try and be cool? After staring at the ceiling for five minutes, the girl spoke, "So, where did you get your pants?"

"Pants?" Alex looked at the girl, his voice bewildered.

She blushed and nodded, "Yeah, the Xbox pants? Those are vintage. They're worth some major credits on the extranet."

Alex was about to say the truth when he realized that saying that they were a gift from Christmas over 100 years ago may be a bad idea. So, he replied, "Just found 'em. I needed pants."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, rather not fall from the sky in my boxers," Alex said with a grin.

The girl laughed lightly, it was a sweet sound. Alex enjoyed it for a short moment before saying, "So, you intern here, Red?"

"Yeah, been doing it for a mon- did you just call me 'Red'?"

Alex blushed, "Y-yeah. So?"

"Only my friends can call me Red," the girl said with a smirk.

"Oh, so the guy who nearly died falling from the sky and is currently 10,000 light years away from his home and has no friends isn't your friend?" Alex put a hand on his chest, "Oh, I'm hurt."

Red smiled, "Well, I guess you can be an exception."

Alex tried to bow, "Oh, I'm so honored."

Red laughed again, "So, what's it like in Iowa?"

"It's not all farmland, like most people seem to think," Alex huffed, "Its kind of a lot of suburbs and smaller cities, kind of like your colony I would guess."

"Oh, cool," Red said as she sat beside Alex, "What about your family?"

Alex panicked for a second, how was he going to explain that they died over a century ago. He quickly thought of a lie, "They, um, died in a car crash."

Red gasped, "Oh, I'm sorry. How long ago?"

"When I was younger," _Yeah, about 100 years younger_.

"Well, you're welcome to say at my place once you're out of her," Red offered.

"Thanks," Alex grinned, "I might take up that offer."

The door hissed open and Don came walking back in, "You two get acquainted?"

"Yeah," Red replied.

"Good, cause he needs to get some rest," Don said as he motioned for Red to follow him, "Later, we have some visitors for you."

"Okay, see ya later," Alex called as Don and Red left the room.

Laying back down on the bed, Alex recalled the events. He had been sent 100+ years into the future, was 10,000 light years from Earth, has been confined to a hospital and got a badass tool thing. Pretty cool for a terrifying situation. As he lay his head back on the pillow, Alex thought of home and what they had done since his disappearance… then he drifted to sleep.


End file.
